It’s not every day a student recital at SFCM includes more than 70 student musicians and alumni, yet that is what Jaco Wong is doing with Inkling / Pictures at an Exhibition: A Multimedia Orchestra Experience. 

The production promises to create a unique intersection between orchestral music, abstract animation, and neuroscience, “This is an opportunity to bring orchestral and classical music outside of the traditional concert hall setting, and to engage audiences with 21st-century technology and topics,” Wong said. The idea came to fruition between Wong and his longtime collaborator artist Evan Tedlock. “I have always had a special interest in the intersection of science and the arts,” he said. 

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The production will feature multi-projection, musicians surrounding the gallery space, and electroencephalography (EEG) technology, “Inkling is an immersive representation of the neural processes during an artist’s creative state,” Wong said. Alongside Inkling is a multimedia performance of Modest Mussorgsky’s monumental Pictures at an Exhibition, orchestrated by Maurice Ravel, incorporating Viktor Hartmann’s paintings that inspired the musical work. The performance will take place on April 3, 2022, at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture in San Francisco. 

SFCM Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) composer and UCSF MD candidate Enrique Vargas is also heavily involved as the science advisor for the project. “What’s happening in the brain when it comes up with a new idea?” Vargas continued, “This is essentially the question I ask and try to answer with my EEG work at UCSF.” Vargas’ research is the first of its kind to study the neural correlates of novel composition composers, “Our approach wasn’t just to use the science in an aesthetic way but to incorporate it into the actual story itself and expose the audience to the real science used to explore how the brain works,” Vargas said. “Music and science have so much they can learn from each other and I see this project as a tangible step in building the bridge between the two fields going forward.”

The Inkling production is in fulfillment of the recital requirement for Wong's Professional Studies Certificate in conducting. Wong is putting on the performance with the guidance of his conducting teacher Edwin Outwater and composition teacher Mason Bates. “I am grateful for the support from the SFCM Professional Development Tier 1 Grant to make this possible,” Wong said. 

Tickets are required for this event at the Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture on Sunday, April 3, 2022. 

Learn more about conducting at SFCM.